The San Diego Padres' ongoing quest for a World Series (or at least a playoff title). "You know that many runners enter a race, but only one of them wins the prize. So run to win! Athletes work hard to win a crown that cannot last, but we do it for a crown that will last forever." 1 Corinthians 9:24-25

Padres Beat Trevor’s New Team!

4-3 Padres

It was a great game. Josh Geer threw two innings and only allowed one run. Outfielder Emil Brown hit a three run homer in the bottom of the first after two walks to give the Padres a 3-0 lead. We did not give up that lead for the rest of the game. Pitcher Mat Latos, who is still trying to find home plate this spring, gave up a two-run homer that tied the game. But no worries, as infielder Travis Denker drove the winning run in with an RBI double in the fourth. Cesar Ramos (first round pick), Nick Schmidt (first round pick), Jae Kuk Ryu, Cesar Carrillo (first round pick), Ivan Nova, and Matt Buschmann all had scoreless innings. We really have a lot of great arms here in camp. It will be very interesting to see who will make it to the Opening Day roster!

And no, Trevor did not pitch. In fact, he wasn’t even with the team. He’s kind of doing his own thing this year. Like he preferred having a bullpen session to pitching in an actual game. Maybe he has to be taking it more easy because he’s getting so old (42). Or maybe he likes to stay as far away from his new teammates as he can. Who knows, but whatever Trevor thinks he needs to do to prepare for the season, the Brewers better let him do it. I do not doubt that Trevor and the Padres will meet again soon.

I listened to XX 1090 for while after the game, Darren Smith’s show. He’s actually out there in Peoria this week, so about 20 minutes after the game he talked to Buddy Black. It was an interesting interview. Buddy talked about a bunch of the players in camp who have a chance at the Opening Day roster. He sounded like he had a cold, but it was a good interview. Immediately after Buddy left, Heath Bell came on. I love Heath, I really do, and I really enjoy watching him pitch. But he’s the one who is going to be in Trevor’s spot this year. He’s not replacing Trevor, but he’s taking his spot. He kept saying how he’s the leader in the bullpen now. I really like Heath, and I’m sure he will do very well, but there’s that bitterness in the background, you know? I thought it was a pretty intense interview, or rather Heath was being really intense. He’s going to be a leader with his words in that clubhouse, there’s no doubt about it. He considers himself a kid, but he’s going to be really serious about his work. I know that. Even his wife considers him her “fourth child”. But I can tell that he’s going to bring a different intensity to the closer’s role. Trevor was always so cool, so calm. He just trotted out there and went about his business. But Heath is going to probably be more emotional on the mound. It’s going to be different ’cause Heath can throw a lot harder than Trevor. Plus, their styles of pitching are obviously different. Like Heath said, one of the hardest parts of this transition is winning over the fans. Heath is going to be playing in the WBC for USA. He just found out yesterday. Something funny he said in the interview was that he doesn’t talk to opposing batters because he wants them to think that he’s slightly crazy and wacko. But now he’s going to have to talk to his USA teammates! I guess he wouldn’t like the All-Star game much, then…

Today we are facing the Dodgers! Talk about a rivalry. We are going to be facing them in Petco for the first four games of the regular season. That is going to be very interesting. At least they don’t have Manny (yet). Chris Young is starting against Chad Billingsley. Billingsley seems like the type of guy that we’ve hit hard in the past. We’ll have to see how it goes, but I think CY will be pretty solid. Unfortunately, Corey Brock does not have the lineup up yet. I got up too early this morning. Oh well. Hopefully we will roll out a good lineup that will hit the Dodgers hard. GO PADRES!!

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